Big Changes

There have been some big changes in Casa Shac-a-Con. Namely, we have a teenager now. It started a few weeks ago; Mitch had an 8th grader who mentioned she was in foster care and was very unhappy in her current home. This alone didn’t seem crazy- what 14 year old doesn’t hate their parents at some point? Then things escalated, her current home wasn’t working and she ended up in a group home. At this point, I decided that we needed to do whatever we could to get her moved into our house. Our licensing agency is fantastic and got right on it- they contacted DCS, submitted an amendment to our license and got it fast-tracked, and got us contact info to arrange some visits. We took The Teen out to dinner on Friday (after buying shoes because there was a shoe crisis) and then brought her to the house to check it out Sunday and discuss if this seemed like something she wanted to do. She agreed, and Wednesday we picked her up from DCS and officially became foster parents to a teenager. It’s been a whirlwind of a week.

We have moved furniture, emptied an office and turned it into a baby room (I also decided to repaint the room because Spring Break). We got a bed, took her shopping for sheets and a comforter, got a dresser and nightstand, and magically we have a room fit for a big kid. And a new room fit for a little one. And a desk in the bedroom, plus another temporarily in the living room as we prep for “distance learning” and what that means for all of us.

So far, it’s been a smooth transition. I fully recognize we’re in a honeymoon and we’re in an odd situation since school is closed and we’re social distancing. The first few days included errands, picking up needed items, and unpacking, so we’re just starting on actual distancing and staying home.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous and feeling under-prepared. But from what I know from my friends with teens, that’s par for the course. We got her a phone and she’s in love with it and is happy to be back in contact with all her friends. She’s also taught us some fun tricks that Alexa can do. And last night we enjoyed dinner and making s’mores on the roof deck while she showed us pictures and videos of her friends and family: it was a really good night. 

We’re in uncharted territory, in so many ways, but I think we’re as prepared as we can be and I’m sure we’ll learn a lot along the way.

Also, we bought her color lights for her room that Alexa controls. They’re pretty cool.